Had a comp day today so i decided i would take care of those pesky rootings that are going nuts in my starter box.

First I built this. I'm kind of proud. Two tiers for future expansion.  Came out well and only cost me the plastic trash bags and a light  bulb. Most of the wood came from an old project and is already thick with polyurethane.  The rest i had laying around from other bits. 

It's not fully operational, but should get these guys into a 1 gal pot. I'll have to stay on top of the humidity level.  I realized this is similar to building an egg incubator.  Temp/Humidity/light control.  The bulb in the bottom is a 100w light bulb for heat until i can get a proper heating pad in there... unless this works well.  I think i will need more light, too. Using a 24" aquatic grow bulb, but it's all i have at the time.  I really had to get the cuttings out.  I will eventually go to high output LEDs with a variable spectral mix to tune the color output to the plan requirements.  

I left a space at the bottom for adding heat, humidifier and control systems via an arduino micro controller.  A future project.  apparently my ability to build the box is greater than my ability to photograph it.   The plastic is secured with blue painter's tape- i am  concerned about humidity with that tape, but i will get some 100mph tape on it soon.

 

Now for the figs. I used 1 pt coir/one pt perlite/one part potting soil/one part orchid mix. holds water well without being soggy.

 One of my rootings is growing a tiny fig.  should i remove it? seems like a lot of energy would be expended on it.




I read somewhere on this forum that a red bud might indicate a specific cultivar. I cant find that info again anywhere.  The photo kind of whitewashes the red. Any ideas? 

 

I have 21 unknown cuttings from six or seven separate trees. So far, 14 have rooted, six are looking good and one i am nursing through a fungal attack.   Here's the inside.
 
Thanks again for all the help.  I can't express just how helpful this forum has been in my foray into the secret world of figs.


johnny

Looks really good. I would remove the fig to give the plant more energy.

Thanks.  Gone.

I always remove any fruit from a tree that is in its first or second season.  I want all the energy going toward roots and limbs.

Thanks Steve. I wouldn't have thought to go through the second year, but i can see how that would help the roots, though it seems like a difficult job, chasing own all those little figs.

What about leaves?  At least at this point. All the figs have roots- from a few hairs to some pretty big clumps.